Flourishing programs in 80+ disciplines. A vibrant Christian mission. $50 million
in new campus construction. A 2014 Division III national championship. 95% placement
within 6 months of graduation. There’s never been a better time to consider Hope College.

As a member of the MIAA and NCAA Division III associations, Hope College sponsors
22 varsity sports for men and women. The college is home to the 2014 NCAA Division
III National Championship women’s volleyball team.

Breadcrumb Navigation

Policies

Apply for aid by deadlines — the priority deadline is March 1 of each year

Meet satisfactory academic progress requirements

Each summer, students who demonstrate financial need will be awarded financial assistance
for the next academic year.

For renewal students, the dollar amounts of aid will normally remain constant if a
student's need remains the same. Yearly aid increases or decreases are based upon
an evaluation of the financial aid application.

For those academic merit awards with renewal criteria based upon the demonstration
of a specific cumulative GPA, see your original merit award letter for your specific
renewal criteria.

Many factors can serve to reduce a student’s financial aid eligibility in any given
year. Some of the most common influencing factors are:

An increase in either the parents’ or the student’s income as compared to prior year

Hope College’s policy on student records incorporates the rights guaranteed by FERPA.
Students are notified of their FERPA rights annually through publication of the rights
in the college catalog and the student handbook.

Repeat Courses for Financial Aid Eligibility

Federal regulations limit the number of times a student may repeat a course and receive
federal financial aid for that course.

A course being repeated for the first time counts toward enrollment for financial
aid eligibility.

Retaking a course that was previously failed one or more consecutive times (received
an F) counts toward enrollment for financial aid eligibility.

A previously passed course counts in enrollment for financial aid eligibility one additional time. A second or subsequent repeat must be excluded from the enrollment calculation of
financial aid eligibility and the aid revised if allowable credits drop below full
time (12 credits).

This rule applies whether or not the student received aid for earlier enrollments
in the course.

Courses where the course and number remain the same but the content changes might not be considered a repeat when taken more than once. An example is a music
performance course. The Registrar's Office confirms qualifying enrollments as non-repeats
on an individual basis.

Should financial aid need to be adjusted to reflect the exclusion of repeats, the
Office of Financial Aid will send a revised award letter to the student.

Example 1: Student fails first, second, third, etc. attempt of a course. Because student never
received a passing grade, course can be repeated and be included in enrollment for
financial aid.

Example 2: Student fails first attempt and receives a D for the second attempt. A third attempt
can be included in enrollment for financial aid for a final time. After a passing
grade (A to D- or P) is received only one additional attempt can be counted for financial
aid enrollment.

Example 3: Student fails first attempt, receives a D for a second attempt, fails third attempt.
Student takes course a fourth time. Because the student received a passing grade earlier
and then repeated the course, enrollment in the fourth attempt cannot be included
for financial aid enrollment regardless of the grade.

Example 4: Student passes first attempt with a D, fails a second attempt. Student cannot receive
federal aid for any further attempts.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Federal regulations require that students make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
toward the completion of their degree and maintain good academic standing. Students
who fall behind in their coursework, or fail to achieve minimum standards for GPA and
completion of classes, risk losing their eligibility for federal and state financial
aid, external scholarships/grants/loans,Hope College grants and certain Hope College scholarships (see note below).

SAP is assessed both qualitatively (by cumulative GPA) and quantitatively (by earned
credit hours). Progress is measured annually at the end of each spring semester to
determine a student’s financial aid eligibility for future enrollment periods.

Students not meeting these SAP standards are notified by the Office of Financial Aid
(both by mail using their self-reported permanent address and through their Hope email
account) that they have become ineligible for future financial aid eligibility.

Note: The following Hope-sponsored merit scholarships are exempted from this policy:

Alumni Honors Scholarship

Distinguished Artist Award

Heritage Award

Presidential Scholarship

RCA Honors Scholarship

Transfer Scholarship

Trustee Scholarship

Valedictorian Scholarship

VanderWerf Scholarship

Renewal criteria for these scholarships are found in the student’s award letter from
the Office of Admissions.

Requirements to maintain SAP

There are three components to SAP as detailed below. Failure to comply with any one
of these three requirements may result in a loss of aid eligibility:

Students must earn a percentage of all credit hours attempted according to the schedule
below. For example, a student attempts a total of 63 hours and earns 54 hours. She
or he has therefore earned 86% of attempted hours which satisfies this particular
SAP requirement.

1–32 credit hours attempted — 60%

33–64 credit hours attempted — 65%

65–96 credit hours attempted — 70%

97–126 credit hours attempted — 75%

127–160 credit hours attempted — 80%

3. Complete degree requirements within 160 attempted credit hours:

Students pursuing their first undergraduate degree (e.g., Bachelor of Arts) may receive
financial assistance for which they are eligible through the semester in which they attempt
their 160th credit hour. (Exception: If student is the recipient of a Hope merit scholarship,
she or he is eligible to receive that scholarship for any remaining semesters of eligibility
as long as she or he meets all merit scholarship renewal criteria.)

Students already holding a bachelor’s degree and pursuing either a teaching certificate
or a second degree are considered to be making SAP if all courses in which they enroll
are required for certificate or degree completion and 100% of all attempted hours
are earned.

Definitions for “Attempted Hours” and “Earned Hours”

1. Attempted Hours are the cumulative hours a student has attempted during all enrollment
periods at Hope College, irrespective of receiving financial aid. The following grades
are included as attempted credit hours and these hours therefore count toward the
cumulative maximum:

All passing grades (A through D- and P)

No report (NR)

Incomplete (I)

Withdrawal (W)

Failure (F)

2. CLEP, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Credit by Exam credit
hours are included in the measurement of both attempted and earned hours.

3. Transfer hours accepted by Hope College are included as both attempted and earned
hours.

4. If a student repeats a course, the credit hours for the repeated course are included
in both the attempted and earned hours when evaluating SAP. The credit hours for the
first course are included in attempted hours but are not included in earned hours.

5. Audit hours are not included in the calculation of either attempted or earned hours.

6. Successful completion is measured using the cumulative total number of earned hours
as reflected on the student’s academic transcript at the time of evaluation.

7. If a student is not making SAP at the close of the spring semester and subsequently
earns additional hours during the following summer, these additional earned hours
are considered as attempted and earned in the reevaluation of his/her aid eligibility
for the following academic year.

SAP Monitoring and SAP Suspension

At the end of each spring semester (after the posting of spring semester earned credit
hours and grades), SAP status is evaluated for all students. Students not meeting
one or more of the three SAP requirements for all semesters enrolled are notified
of their SAP Suspension status in writing. Students on SAP Suspension lose their eligibility
for financial aid; however, they may appeal this status by submitting the Hope College SAP Appeal Form to the Office of Financial Aid.

SAP Appeals

A student may appeal his or her suspension of aid eligibility if she or he believes
there were extenuating circumstances that prevented normal academic progression or
successful completion of the terms of SAP Probation (see SAP Probation section below).
Examples of extenuating circumstances include a serious personal or immediate family
critical illness (physical or mental), death of an immediate family member, pending
incomplete grades, withdrawal from classes after the drop/add period, etc.

To appeal, the student must submit to the Office of Financial Aid the Hope College SAP Appeal Form which allows the student to explain and document extenuating circumstances.

If an SAP appeal is approved, the student is placed on SAP Probation for one (1) semester
and she or he remains eligible to receive financial aid during this one semester.

The SAP Appeal Form, along with all required documentation (and an approved Academic
Plan if required), must be submitted to the Office of Financial Aid prior to November
1 if requesting reinstatement of financial aid eligibility for the fall semester,
or March 1 if requesting reinstatement of financial aid eligibility for the spring
semester. Any appeal submitted for a term after the student has ceased attending said
term will not be granted.

Students are limited to three SAP Appeal submissions during their enrollment at Hope
College.

SAP Probation

Students continue to receive financial aid during this one semester of SAP Probation. While
enrolled in this SAP Probation semester, a student is expected to:

Satisfactorily complete a minimum of 12 credit hours

Achieve a semester GPA of at least 2.0

Meet the terms of their Academic Plan (if such a plan was required in their successful
appeal)

Students on SAP Probation are reviewed at the close of their probation semester as
to whether they have met the terms of their probation.

Students who succeed in meeting the probationary terms by the close of their SAP Probation
semester are eligible to receive their financial aid funds in the subsequent semester.
(However, they will be monitored annually at the close of each subsequent spring semester
to determine if they continue to meet the college’s SAP requirements.)

Students who fail to meet the probationary terms by the close of their SAP Probation
semester are notified that they are again on SAP Suspension and lose eligibility for
financial aid. A student may respond by submitting another Hope College SAP Appeal
form.

SAP Academic Plan

The Office of Financial Aid may make the decision to require the development of an
Academic Plan on a case-by-case basis after the student has submitted the Hope College
SAP Appeal Form.

The purpose of an Academic Plan is to ensure that the student is on track to achieve
successful program completion. To meet this requirement, the student must develop
an academic plan in consultation with the Office of the Registrar. The Office of the
Registrar will then submit the student’s approved academic plan to the Office of Financial
Aid.

If a student appeals and attends Hope College under an approved Academic Plan for
SAP, she or he remains eligible for financial aid as long as she or he continues to
meet the conditions of the plan. The student’s SAP and adherence to the Academic Plan
are re-evaluated annually at the close of each spring semester.

Other Financing Options for Students Who Fail to Make SAP

Private loan options are available to students not making SAP. Contact the Office
of Financial Aid for more information.

Dissemination of SAP Policy Information

The Hope College SAP policy is readily available in the Hope College Catalog and on
the college’s website.

The Office of Financial Aid provides a link to its online SAP policy statement in
the Information Guide document that is annually mailed with initial student financial
aid award notifications.

Subsequent to the drop/add dates for both the fall and spring semesters, all enrolled
students receive an email alerting them to the college’s SAP policy with a link to
the online SAP policy statement.

Note: This policy is subject to change in the future should there be any changes in
federal regulation.

Withdrawals and Refunds

Federal Title IV Student Financial Aid

Federal regulations mandate the formula for calculating the amount of federal aid
a student and school may retain when a student withdraws from all classes during a
semester. In general, a student “earns” federal financial aid in proportion to the
number of days in the semester the student has attended. The school must calculate
the portion of the total financial assistance that the student has earned and is entitled
to retain. If a student receives (or the college receives on the student’s behalf)
more assistance than the student earns, the unearned funds must be returned to the
applicable federal aid program. Students who initiate a complete withdrawal and have
not completed the federal verification process will be ineligible to receive any Title
IV financial aid.

This policy applies to all students who completely withdraw, drop out or are expelled
from Hope College and receive financial aid from Title IV funds:

Federal Title IV Student Financial Aid consists of:

Federal Academic Competitiveness Grants

Federal Direct Loans (both subsidized and unsubsidized)

Federal Perkins Loans

Federal PLUS Loans

Federal Pell Grants

Federal SMART Grant

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG)

Federal TEACH Grant

It does not include Federal Work Study (FWS)

A student’s withdrawal date is:

The date the student began the withdrawal process

The midpoint of the period of enrollment for a student who leaves without notifying
the college

The student’s last date of attendance at a documented academically related activity

Prorated adjustments on all institutional charges, including tuition and fees, are calculated
using the College Refund Policy.

Title IV aid is earned on a prorated basis up to and including the 60% point in the
semester. After the 60% time of attendance is reached, Title IV aid is viewed as 100%
earned.

Unearned Title IV aid shall be returned to the loan programs before grant programs.

Adjusted statements are sent to the student’s permanent address on file. Students
are responsible for any remaining portion of their institutional charges after Title
IV funds are returned. Resulting credit balances are paid to the student within 14
days after the adjustments are posted.

Students who are making a complete withdrawal during a semester must complete a Withdrawal Form (obtained at the Office of the Registrar).

Michigan Competitive Scholarship or Tuition Grant

If a student withdraws and is eligible for a full tuition refund, any Michigan Competitive
Scholarship or Tuition Grant award will be canceled. If the student is eligible for
a partial refund, his or her award will be reduced based on the percent of the tuition
and activity fee originally paid by the award.

Hope College Grants, Scholarships & Outside Scholarships

A student will retain a percentage of all other financial aid based on the percentage
of tuition retained.

Federal Student Financial Aid Penalties for Drug Law Violations

Federal law provides that a student who has been convicted of an offense under any
federal or state law involving the possession or sale of a controlled substance during
a period of enrollment for which the student was receiving financial aid shall not
be eligible to receive any federal or institutional grant, loan or work assistance
during the period beginning on the date of such conviction and ending after the interval
specified in the following table.

If convicted of an offense involving:

Possession of a Controlled Substance

Ineligibility Period

First Offense

1 year

Second Offense

2 years

Third Offense

Indefinite

Sale of a Controlled Substance

Ineligibility Period

First Offense

2 years

Second Offense

Indefinite

A student whose eligibility has been suspended based on a conviction for possession
or sale of a controlled substance may resume eligibility before the end of the ineligibility
period if:

A. The student satisfactorily completes a drug rehabilitation program that:

Complies with criteria prescribed in the federal regulations

Includes two unannounced drug tests

AND

B. The student successfully passes two unannounced drug tests conducted by a drug
rehabilitation program that complies with the criteria prescribed in the federal regulations

OR

C. The conviction is reversed, set aside or otherwise rendered nugatory

Title IV Conflict of Interest and Code of Conduct

Hope College (the College) prohibits revenue-sharing arrangements with any lender.
This is defined as any arrangement between the College and a lender that results in
the lender paying a fee or other benefits, including a share of the profits, to the
College, its officers, employees or agents, as a result of the College recommending
the lender to its students or families of those students.

The College prohibits its employees of the Office of Financial Aid from receiving
gifts from any lender, guaranty agency or loan servicer. This is not limited just
to those providers of Title IV loans. The statutory language refers to lenders of
“educational loans” thus private education loans offered to students at the College
are covered in this provision as well. The law does provide for some exceptions related
to specific types of activities or literature. This includes: a. Brochures or training material related to default aversion or financial literacy.b. Food, training or informational materials as part of training as long as that training
contributes to the professional development of those individuals attending the training.c. Favorable terms and benefits to the student employed by the College as long as
those same terms are provided to all students at the College.d. Entrance and exit counseling as long as the College’s staff are in control and
they do not promote the services of a specific lender.e. Philanthropic contributions from a lender, guaranty agency or servicer unrelated
to education loans.f. State education, grants, scholarships, or financial aid funds administered by or
on behalf of the State.

The College prohibits contracting arrangements whereby any employee of the College’s
Office of Financial Aid may not accept any fee, payment or financial benefit as compensation
for any type of consulting arrangement or contract to provide services to or on behalf
of a lender relating to education loans.

The College prohibits the steering of borrowers to particular lenders, or delaying
loan certifications. This includes assigning any first-time borrower’s loan to a particular
lender as part of their award packaging or other methods.

The College prohibits offers of funds for private loans. The College will not request
or accept such offers. This includes any offer of funds for loans to students at the
College, including funds for an opportunity pool loan, in exchange for providing concessions
or promises to the lender for a specific number of loans, or inclusion on a preferred
lender list.

The College prohibits staffing assistance from a lender. The College will not request
or accept any assistance with call center staffing or financial aid office staffing.
However, the law does not prohibit the College from requesting or accepting assistance
from a lender related to:a. Professional development training for financial aid administrators.b. Providing educational counseling materials, financial literacy materials, or debt
management materials to borrowers, provided that such materials disclose to borrowers
the identification of any lender that assisted in preparing or providing such materials.c. Staffing services on a short-term, non-reoccurring basis to assist the College
with financial aid- related functions during emergencies, including State-declared
or federally declared natural disasters, and other localized disasters and emergencies
identified by the U.S. Secretary of Education.

The College prohibits advisory board compensation. Employees of the College may not
receive anything of value from a lender, guarantor, or group in exchange for serving
in this capacity. They, may, however, accept reimbursement for reasonable expenses
incurred while serving in this capacity.

Directory of Consumer Information

In accordance with federal regulations set forth under The Higher Education Act of
1965, as amended, a summary of consumer information must be made available to all students at Hope College.